Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) Short Interest Update

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,310,000 shares, an increase of 43.3% from the February 13th total of 2,310,000 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on TXRH. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $205.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Texas Roadhouse in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Texas Roadhouse has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.73.

Texas Roadhouse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TXRH opened at $171.95 on Tuesday. Texas Roadhouse has a 12-month low of $146.75 and a 12-month high of $206.04. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $177.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.29.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Texas Roadhouse had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 34.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is an increase from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.04%.

Insider Activity at Texas Roadhouse

In other Texas Roadhouse news, President Regina A. Tobin sold 3,154 shares of Texas Roadhouse stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.64, for a total value of $585,508.56. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 18,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,374.96. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of Texas Roadhouse stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total transaction of $245,860.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,794,600. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,905 shares of company stock valued at $3,198,367 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Texas Roadhouse

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Texas Roadhouse during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Texas Roadhouse by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

About Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.